Exhaust diffuser strut for reducing flow separation

ABSTRACT

A strut provided in an exhaust diffuser and having an airfoil-shaped cross-section is provided. The strut may include a cut portion configured to be formed in a trailing edge in a span direction. The cut portion is configured to provide a stepped portion in at least a portion of the trailing edge.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This is a divisional application of U.S. application Ser. No. 17/192,827filed Mar. 4, 2021 which claims priority to Korean Patent ApplicationNo. 10-2020-0027608, filed on Mar. 5, 2020, the disclosure of which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD

Apparatuses and methods consistent with exemplary embodiments relate toan exhaust diffuser strut and, more particularly, to an exhaust diffuserstrut configured to reduce pressure loss in an exhaust diffuser byreducing flow separation occurring in a trailing edge thereof.

BACKGROUND

A gas turbine includes a compressor, a combustor, and a turbine. Thecompressor compresses air by a plurality of compressor blades togenerate compressed air which is in a high-temperature and high-pressurestate. The combustor mixes fuel with the compressed air supplied fromthe compressor and burns a mixture thereof by a burner to generatehigh-temperature and high-pressure combustion gas which is discharged tothe turbine. The turbine includes a plurality of turbine blades rotatedby the combustion gas, thereby generating power. The generated power isused in various fields, such as generating electric power and drivingmachines. For example, the gas turbine is used for driving a powergenerator, an aircraft, a locomotive, or the like.

After rotating the turbine blades, the combustion gas may be exhaustedto outside through an exhaust diffuser located on the turbine. In orderto form an annular exhaust space of the exhaust diffuser, a conical huband a conical casing located outside the conical hub are necessary, anda strut connecting and supporting the conical hub and the conical casingis radially provided.

Here, the strut has an airfoil-shaped cross-section in order tointerrupt the flow of the combustion gas to a minimum extent. A trailingedge downstream of the combustion gas forms a boundary layer downstreamthereof as the flow of the combustion gas leaves. This may cause flowseparation, thereby causing pressure loss inside the exhaust diffuser.The pressure loss inside the exhaust diffuser may degrade the efficiencyof exhaust and have an adverse effect to the efficiency of a complexpower generation system provided by connecting a heat recovery systemgenerator (HRSG) and a steam turbine to a gas turbine.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

Aspects of one or more exemplary embodiments provide a novel exhaustdiffuser strut configured to reduce pressure loss inside an exhaustdiffuser that is caused by flow separation occurring in a trailing edgethereof.

Additional aspects will be set forth in part in the description whichfollows and, in part, will become apparent from the description, or maybe learned by practice of the exemplary embodiments.

According to an aspect of an exemplary embodiment, there is provided astrut provided in an exhaust diffuser and having an airfoil-shapedcross-section. The strut may include a cut portion configured to beformed in a trailing edge in a span direction. The cut portion mayprovide a stepped portion in at least a portion of the trailing edge.

The cut portion may begin from a radial external end of the strut.

A length of the cut portion may be at least 15% of a span length.

The cut portion may be provided on an entire trailing edge of the strut.

Ribs may be provided along both boundaries between the cut portion and awing-shaped surface of an airfoil, respectively.

The ribs may extend along a wing-shaped curved surface of the airfoil.

Corresponding ends of a pair of ribs may be spaced apart from eachother.

The cut portion and the ribs may be provided on an entire trailing edgeof the strut, and lattice-shaped reinforcement ribs may be provided on asurface of the cut portion.

An end of a transverse rib of the reinforcement ribs may be in contactwith or bonded to the ribs.

A depth of the cut portion may range from 10% to 30% of a cord length.

According to an aspect of another exemplary embodiment, there isprovided an exhaust diffuser including: a cylindrical hub; a conicalcasing provided outside and concentric with the cylindrical hub; and astrut configured to connect and support the cylindrical hub and theconical casing. The strut may include a cut portion configured to beformed in a trailing edge in a span direction. The cut portion mayprovide a stepped portion in at least a portion of the trailing edge.

The exhaust diffuser strut having the above-described configurationaccording to the exemplary embodiments may cause a significant change ina flow of combustion gas due to the cut portion in which the steppedportion is formed on at least a portion of the trailing edge, and delaythe formation of a boundary layer in the combustion gas disturbed by anabrupt change in the flow. As the delayed formation and development ofthe boundary layer of the combustion gas, the occurrence of flowseparation in the edge area is also delayed and the extinction of flowseparation is accelerated. Accordingly, the exhaust diffuser strutaccording to the exemplary embodiments may reduce pressure loss insidethe exhaust diffuser by reducing the occurrence of the flow separation,thereby improving the exhaust efficiency.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects will be more apparent from the followingdescription of the exemplary embodiments with reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a view illustrating an example of a gas turbine to which anexhaust diffuser according to an exemplary embodiment is applied;

FIG. 2 is a view schematically illustrating a structure of the exhaustdiffuser according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a view illustrating a structure of a related-art strut;

FIG. 4 is a view illustrating a strut according to an exemplaryembodiment;

FIG. 5 is a view illustrating a strut according to another exemplaryembodiment;

FIG. 6 is a view illustrating a strut according to another exemplaryembodiment;

FIG. 7 is a view illustrating a result of computational analysisperformed on combustion gas passing through the strut illustrated inFIG. 3 ; and

FIG. 8 is a view illustrating a result of computational analysisperformed on combustion gas passing through the strut illustrated inFIG. 4 .

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various modifications and various embodiments will be described indetail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilledin the art can easily carry out the disclosure. It should be understood,however, that the various embodiments are not for limiting the scope ofthe disclosure to the specific embodiment, but they should beinterpreted to include all modifications, equivalents, and alternativesof the embodiments included within the spirit and scope disclosedherein.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing specificembodiments only and is not intended to limit the scope of thedisclosure. When terms, such as “on” and “over”, are used herein torefer to layers, areas, patterns, or structures, it should be understoodthat a layer, area, pattern, or structure may be located above anotherlayer, area, pattern, or structure directly or indirectly via anintervening layer, area, pattern, or structure. When terms, such as“under” and “below”, are used herein to refer to layers, areas,patterns, or structures, it should be understood that a layer, area,pattern, or structure may be located below another layer, area, pattern,or structure directly or indirectly via an intervening layer, area,pattern, or structure. In the disclosure, terms such as “includes,”“comprises,” and “have/has” should be construed as designating thatthere are such features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or combinations thereof, not to exclude the presence orpossibility of adding of one or more of other features, integers, steps,operations, elements, components, and/or combinations thereof.

In addition, unless otherwise specified, terms such as “first,”“second,” and so on may be used to describe a variety of elements, butthe elements should not be limited by these terms. The terms are usedsimply to distinguish one element from other elements. The use of suchordinal numbers should not be construed as limiting the meaning of theterm. For example, the components associated with such an ordinal numbershould not be limited in the order of use, placement order, or the like.If necessary, each ordinal number may be used interchangeably.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments will be described in detail withreference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that likereference numerals refer to like parts throughout the various figuresand exemplary embodiments. In certain embodiments, a detaileddescription of functions and configurations well known in the art may beomitted to avoid obscuring appreciation of the disclosure by a person ofordinary skill in the art. For the same reason, some components may beexaggerated, omitted, or schematically illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a gas turbine according toan exemplary embodiment. Referring to FIG. 1 , a gas turbine 100according to an exemplary embodiment includes a compressor 110, acombustor 104, a turbine 120, a housing 102, and an exhaust diffuser106.

The housing 102 covers the compressor 110 which compresses an introducedair at high pressure and delivers the compressed air to the combustor104. The combustor 104 generates high-temperature and high-pressurecombustion gas using a mixture of the compressed air and fuel andsupplies the combustion gas to the turbine 120. The turbine 120generates rotational torque using the combustion gas supplied from thecombustor 104. The exhaust diffuser 106 is located at a rear of theturbine 120 to broaden (or expand) the high temperature combustion gasand reduce the speed thereof. The gas turbine 100 further includes atorque tube 130 between the compressor 110 and the turbine 120 in orderto transfer the rotational torque generated by the turbine 120 to thecompressor 110.

The compressor 110 includes a plurality of compressor blades 144radially arranged on a plurality of compressor rotor disks 140. Each ofthe plurality of compressor blades 144 includes a compressor blade root146 having a shape of a dovetail or a fir tree and configured to becoupled to corresponding one of the compressor rotor disks 140. Thecompressor 110 rotates the plurality of compressor blades 144, and airis compressed and moved to the combustor 104 by the rotation of theplurality of compressor blades 144. Here, the compressor 110 is directlyor indirectly connected to the turbine 120 to receive a portion of powergenerated by the turbine 120. The received power is used to rotate theplurality of compressor blades 144.

Air compressed by the compressor 110 is moved to the combustor 104. Thecombustor 104 includes a plurality of casings and a plurality of burnersarranged in a circular pattern. The combustor 104 includes a combustionchamber including a liner. Fuel provided through a fuel nozzle isprovided to the combustion chamber of the combustor 104. The combustor104 mixes the compressed air with the fuel and burns the mixture in thecombustion chamber to generate high-temperature and high-pressurecombustion gas which is discharged to the turbine 120, thereby rotatingturbine blades 184 attached to turbine rotor disks 180.

The gas turbine 100 further includes a tie rod 150 extending through thecompressor rotor disks 140 and the turbine rotor disks 180. One end ofthe tie rod 150 is attached to the compressor rotor disk 140 that isdisposed at the most upstream side, and the other end thereof is fixedby a fixing nut 190. Here, adjacent compressor rotor disks 140 arearranged so that facing surfaces thereof are in tight contact with eachother by the tie rod 150, so that the adjacent compressor rotor disks140 do not rotate relative to each other. A plurality of compressorvanes are fixedly arranged between each of the compressor rotor disks140. While the compressor rotor disks 140 rotate along with a rotationof the tie rod 150, the compressor vanes attached to the housing 102 donot rotate. The compressor vanes guide the flow of compressed air movedfrom front-stage compressor blades 144 of the compressor rotor disk 140to rear-stage compressor blades 144 of the compressor rotor disk 140.

The turbine 120 basically has a structure similar to that of thecompressor 110. That is, the turbine 120 includes a plurality of turbineblades 184 coupled to the plurality of turbine rotor disks 180 and theturbine rotor disks 180 similar to the compressor rotor disks 140 of thecompressor 110. Each turbine rotor disk 180 includes the plurality ofturbine blades 184 which are radially disposed on the turbine rotordisks 180. The plurality of turbine blades 184 may be assembled to theturbine rotor disks 180 via a dovetail joint or a fir joint. Inaddition, turbine vanes fixed to the housing are provided between theturbine blades 184 of the turbine rotor disk 180 to guide a flowdirection of combustion gas passing through the turbine blades 184.

The high temperature combustion gas passes through the turbine 120 alongthe axial direction and rotates the turbine blades 184. For example,after rotating the turbine blades 184, the combustion gas may beexhausted to the outside through an exhaust diffuser 106 located at therear of the turbine 120. That is, the exhaust diffuser 106 receives theexhaust gas from the turbine 120 and discharges the exhaust gas from thegas turbine 100. Here, the combustion gas exhausted through the exhaustdiffuser 106 is also referred to as exhaust gas.

FIG. 2 is a view schematically illustrating a structure of the exhaustdiffuser 106 located at the rear of the turbine 120 according to anexemplary embodiment. Referring to FIG. 2 , the exhaust diffuser 106 isconfigured such that a cylindrical hub 210 located inside and a conicalcasing 220 located outside are arranged concentrically, thereby formingan annular space through which combustion gas is exhausted. The conicalcasing 220 is large in size, extends long to the rear of the turbine120, and has a relatively thin thickness. Due to these features,vibration may be caused by a flow of combustion gas, so the conicalcasing is not structurally durable. For this reason, the casing 220 hasa support structure in which the casing 220 is connected to andsupported by a strut 300 with respect to the cylindrical hub 210.

Because the strut 300 intersects a path through which the combustion gasflows, the strut 300 has an airfoil-shaped cross-section to minimize theflow of the combustion gas. FIG. 3 is a view illustrating a structure ofa related-art strut. Because the strut 300 has the airfoil-shapedcross-section, a thinnest trailing edge 310 is located downstream of thecombustion gas. Flows of combustion gas passing along both surfaces ofthe strut 300 are combined with each other while passing over thetrailing edge 310. As a boundary layer is gradually formed at a locationnear the trailing edge 310, flow separation begins to occur.

The flow separation causes an internal pressure loss in the exhaustdiffuser 106, and this pressure loss inside the exhaust diffuser 106reduces the exhaust efficiency. In addition, the exhaust efficiency ofthe gas turbine 100 is deteriorated, and the efficiency of an entirecomplex power generation system provided by connecting a heat recoveryapparatus and a steam turbine to the gas turbine is adversely affected.

FIG. 4 is a view illustrating a strut according to an exemplaryembodiment. For example, it illustrates an exemplary embodiment foreffectively suppressing the effect of flow separation occurring in thearea of the trailing edge 310 of the strut 300. Referring to FIG. 4 ,the trailing edge 310 of the strut 300 includes a cut portion 320provided in the span direction. The cut portion 320 forms a steppedportion on at least a portion of the trailing edge 310.

The cut portion 320 of the trailing edge 310 causes a significant changein a flow of the combustion gas. When the combustion gas flowing throughthe surface of the airfoil of the strut 300 meets the cut portion 320,the combustion gas flows into the cut portion 320 along a sharp curvedpath to generate a large turbulence. If the combustion gas is disturbedby turbulence, the formation of a boundary layer is delayed. As theformation of the boundary layer is delayed, the occurrence of flowseparation in the area of the trailing edge 310 is also delayed and anextinction of flow separation is accelerated. Thus, the cut portion 320formed on the trailing edge 310 reduces pressure loss inside the exhaustdiffuser 106.

The cut portion 320 is provided on at least a portion of the trailingedge 310 in the span direction. That is, the cut portion 320 may beformed on a portion of the trailing edge 310 as illustrated in FIG. 4 oron an entire portion of the trailing edge 310 as illustrated in FIG. 6 .When the cut portion 320 is formed in a portion of the trailing edge310, it may be effective to properly design a position and a minimumlength L of the cut portion 320 in consideration of the flow of thecombustion gas. Observing the flow of the combustion gas passing throughthe strut 300, the flowing angle increases from the hub 210 to thecasing 220 at about 80% or more of the span in the span direction. Thus,the combustion gas does not flow along the surface of the strut 300,resulting in flow separation. Accordingly, the cut portion 320 may startfrom a radially outer end of the strut 300 adjacent to the casing 220,and for example, the length L of the cut portion 320 may be at least 15%of the span length.

FIG. 5 is a view illustrating a strut according to another exemplaryembodiment, and FIG. 6 is a view illustrating a strut according to stillanother exemplary embodiment. Referring to FIG. 5 , ribs 330 areprovided along both boundaries between the cut portion 320 and thewing-shaped surface of the airfoil, respectively. The ribs 330 formstepped-portions to the flow of the combustion gas toward the cutportion 320. The combustion gas flowing over the ribs 330 flows towardthe cut portion 320 along a sharp curved path. Thus, the ribs 330 may beeffective to create an action that delays the formation of the boundarylayer.

In addition, in consideration of the flow of the combustion gas alongthe surface of the airfoil, the ribs 330 may protrude in a direction inwhich the ribs 330 extend along the wing-shaped curved surface of thesurface of the airfoil. Even when the ribs 330 are formed, correspondingends of the pair of ribs 330 are spaced apart from each other, becausethe surface of the cut portion 320 must be exposed to the flow of thecombustion gas.

Referring to FIG. 6 , the strut 300 includes the cut portion 320 and theribs 330 formed on an entire portion of the trailing edge 310. Here, thestructural strength of the strut 300 may be reduced, because the entiretrailing edge 310 is cut along the span direction. In order to reinforcethe reduced structural strength, reinforcement ribs 340 in a form of alattice may be provided on the surface of the cut portion 320, as shownin FIG. 6 .

If the ribs 340 are formed on peripheral portions of the cut portion320, the effect of the structural reinforcement of the reinforcementribs 340 may be further increased by bringing ends of horizontal ribs342 of the reinforcement ribs 340 into contact with or coupled to theribs 330 or bonding the same.

In addition, it may be necessary to consider a depth D of the cutportion 320, that is, how deep the cut portion 320 will be located inthe strut 300. Because the cut portion 320 serves to reduce the flowseparation, it may be necessary to properly determine the depth D of thecut portion 320 in consideration of the flow separation. For example,because the stepped portion of the cut portion 320 causes a significantchange in the flow of the combustion gas, the cut portion 320 having anexcessive depth may adversely affect the overall aerodynamic performanceof the strut 300. In general, the flow separation begins in the range of10% to 30% of a reference cord length of the trailing edge 310.Therefore, in consideration of this feature, it is appropriate to limitthe depth D of the cut portion 320 within the range of 10% to 30% of thecord length.

TABLE 1 FIG. 3 FIG. 4 FIG. 5 FIG. 6 Cp 0.839 0.848 0.842 0.844 Press.Loss 2.19 2.14 2.21 2.14

Table 1 described above compares the flow performance of the related-artstrut 300 illustrated in FIG. 3 with the strut 300 according to theexemplary embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 4 to 6 . Here, Cp is adimensionless coefficient of pressure recovery (i.e. a ratio of dynamicpressure to static pressure). The faster the pressure recovery, i.e.,the higher the Cp value, the more advantageous the exhaust efficiency.The pressure loss refers to a pressure drop in combustion gas occurringwhile passing through the strut 300. The lower the pressure loss, thehigher the exhaust efficiency. Referring to Table 1, it may beappreciated that the pressure recovery of each of the three exemplaryembodiments is superior to that of the related-art strut 300, and thatthe pressure loss is also improved except for the slight increase in theexample of FIG. 5 in which the partial cut portion 320 and the ribs 330are combined. In other words, on a quantitative basis, the strut 300including the cut portion 320 according to the exemplary embodiments isobviously more effective in reducing the occurrence of flow separationthan the related-art strut 300 illustrated in FIG. 3 . In particular,the exemplary embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 6 resulted insignificant improvements in both aspects of pressure recovery andpressure loss.

FIG. 7 is a view illustrating a result of computational analysisperformed on combustion gas passing through the related-art strut 300illustrated in FIG. 3 , and FIG. 8 is a view illustrating a result ofcomputational analysis performed on combustion gas passing through thestrut 300 having the partial cut portion 320 illustrated in FIG. 4 .Comparing FIGS. 7 and 8 , it may be seen that a recirculation flow isformed in an inner area of the cut portion 320 in the strut 300according to the exemplary embodiments, thereby significantly improvingthe length of flow separation. This result of computational analysis maybe evaluated to be consistent with the result of computational analysisshown in Table 1, in which the strut 300 including the partial cutportion 320 according to the exemplary embodiments is improved in boththe pressure recovery and the pressure loss than the related-art strut.

As described above, the strut 300 according to the exemplary embodimentsmay effectively reduce flow separation occurring in the area of thetrailing edge 310. Based on this, the exhaust diffuser 106 including thecut portion 320 in which the stepped portion is formed on at least oneportion of the trailing edge 310 of the strut 300 along the spandirection thereof, is provided. The exhaust diffuser 106 includes theinner cylindrical hub 210, the outer conical casing 220 disposedconcentrically with the cylindrical hub 210, and the strut 300connecting and supporting the casing 220.

While exemplary embodiments have been described with reference to theaccompanying drawings, it will be apparent to those skilled in the artthat various modifications in form and details may be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope as defined in the appendedclaims. Therefore, the description of the exemplary embodiments shouldbe construed in a descriptive sense and not to limit the scope of theclaims, and many alternatives, modifications, and variations will beapparent to those skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:
 1. A strut provided in an exhaust diffuser, thestrut comprising: an airfoil; a cut portion configured to be formed inan entire trailing edge of the airfoil in a span direction of the strut,wherein a pair of ribs are provided along both boundaries between thecut portion and a wing-shaped surface of the airfoil, wherein the ribsare provided on the entire trailing edge of the strut, and reinforcementribs are provided on a surface of the cut portion.
 2. The strut of claim1, wherein reinforcement ribs form lattice-shaped.
 3. The strut of claim2, wherein an end of a transverse rib of the reinforcement ribs is incontact with or bonded to the ribs.
 4. The strut of claim 1, wherein adepth of the cut portion ranges from 10% to 30% of a cord length.
 5. Anexhaust diffuser comprising: a cylindrical hub; a conical casingprovided outside and concentric with the cylindrical hub; and a strut,having an airfoil, configured to connect and support the cylindrical huband the conical casing, wherein the strut comprises a cut portionconfigured to be formed in an entire trailing edge of the airfoil in aspan direction of the strut, wherein a pair of ribs are provided alongboth boundaries between the cut portion and a wing-shaped surface of theairfoil, wherein the ribs are provided on the entire trailing edge ofthe strut, and reinforcement ribs are provided on a surface of the cutportion.
 6. The exhaust diffuser of claim 5, wherein reinforcement ribsform lattice-shaped.
 7. The exhaust diffuser of claim 6, wherein an endof a transverse rib of the reinforcement ribs is in contact with orbonded to the ribs.
 8. The exhaust diffuser of claim 1, wherein a depthof the cut portion ranges from 10% to 30% of a cord length.